Letter to Board of Selectman

The following letter is being sent to the BOS on behalf of fairness. If they are going to allow the Winchester Snowmobile Club, run by Dean Beamon to be linked to from the Town of Winchester's official town site, why not our sites too? After all, we are providing a service and important town information to the public, more so than a snowmobile club I might add.

the letter reads...

The Board of Selectmen;

As a community group, we would like to ask you to add our web links to the Winchester Web page site under “useful links“. Our groups are all working for the betterment of the community and the public interest of lowering taxes and the public safety. Please add winchesterinformer.com, winchesterinformer.blogspot.com and winchesternoisecoalition.blogspot.com at your earliest convenience. This gesture would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Robert Davis

Should we privatize some departments?

This topic was submitted by Bob Davis.

In an effort to look into the town saving some money and maybe lowering our property taxes, I'm seriously wondering if it is about time we followed the State of Wisconsin by privatizing the highway, water and sewage depts. The State of Wisconsin did this and about 70% of their towns have adopted this way of doing business by privatizing. It works great for them. I have researched privatizing by contacting the State of Wisconsin Dept. of Resources and they sent me a treasure trove of information that they used in making their decision. From finding the right contractors, to the writing of their contracts, to punishing those contractor who do not live up to their contracts. We must change the way we do business in town in an effort to save taxpayer monies. A $67,000.00 salary for a highway superintenden, is plainly too much money for a small town like Winchester to pay out. More will be advertised about this program before our town election. I welcome everyone's input and comments on this subject.

Town's Emergency Management Director resigns

Jim Ammann has given notice effective Oct 1st, that he is stepping down and resigning as the town's Emergency Management Director. The selectmen will be advertising in the Keene Sentinel over the next two weeks to fill the vacancy.

Related Web sites

We've received a number of requests to expand the blog so that visitors could post subjects they wished to discuss in their own words; unfortunately a blog does not allow this. So what we have done is opened two new web sites for everyone.

www.winchesterinformer.com .. Is modeled after the former Winchester Informed Citizen and we hope to continue in the tradition, by bringing you up to date information on important issues in our town.

http://talkback.winchesterinformer.com/ .. Is a new discussion forum set up to promote open discussions on a range of topics that is entirely up to you. You may view any open discussion on the site; however to post a comment or open a new topic you will have to register. Information regarding registration is posted on the forum. We hope all of the citizens of Winchester will take an interest and freely speak what's on your mind.

Both sites are works in progress, so please forgive the construction as we continue to develope both. If you have ideas you'd like to share with us on ways we can improve the sites, please contact us. .. winchesterinformer@gmail.com

Information is the food of thought, come and share your views and comments and get involved with the workings of our town. Working together we can make Winchester a town we can all be proud of.

Town Administrator Resigns

Amy Lewis, Winchester's Town Administrator gave notice to the Board of Selectman that she was stepping down to be with family in Florida. It is rumored that Bob Gray, has been chosen to fill the vacancy.

Why won't they act ?

Though he was voted out of office by the citizens of Winchester, there are still questions as to what went on while John Stetsor was our town manager that need to be addressed. This is a recent "letter to the editor" sent into the Keene Sentinel ..

In New Hampshire, selectmen have the legal authority to open bank accounts and get credit for the town. Employees, even town managers, aren’t allowed to do that kind of thing on their own. Check out RSA 37:6 for the specific powers and duties of town managers.

A "Right to Know" request and $24.00 got me some interesting documents about credit cards. One is a credit card application dated 4/25/07 for a Town of Winchester MasterCard in the name of John Stetser, with a $10,000 credit limit. The “Authorized Officer Signature” is J. H. Stetser. John H. Stetser is listed as the only “authorized contact” who can make changes to the account. So far the town hasn’t come up with a document showing selectmen approved the application. Keep in mind, that isn’t $10,000 once, it can be $10,000 over and over as fast as the town can pay the bills.
The town manager approves payments for all bills and determines the budget department and line item charge backs. Some of his approved payments and charge backs are most interesting. There's one for an overnight stay at the Sise Inn, which is, according to it’s website “one of the finest hotels in Portsmouth”, $193.43 charged back to Executive Publications. Then there's Papagallo’s $50, Red Blazer Restaurant (Concord) $28.72, Burlington Coat (Concord) $40.97 (rumored to be underwear), Sears (Concord) $14.99, Papagallo’s $100, TK’s Family Restaurant $20.86, TK’s Family Restaurant $17.04 (with a note “mtg w/Swanzey town administrator Ex”), Papagallo’s $50, Sunoco Winchester $26.75, Smart Quote (software?) $252.00, which was charged back to General Government Buildings Contracted Services, plus many miscellaneous charges at Wal-Mart, Staples and others. It is hard to figure out from the documents provided just how all these expenses were charged back to us taxpayers. There is also a late fee and finance charges, charged to this account.
The Town Manager’s contract allows him mileage reimbursement for the itemized use of his vehicle but doesn’t say anything about paying for gasoline, meals, lodging, entertainment or clothing. So far, the town has not been able to provide documentation of our selectmen approving such expenses.
I also discovered that the Town of Winchester has three store credit cards ( Wal-Mart, Staples and Home Depot). Since July there has been one charge on the Wal-Mart card, $20.76 for Pepto Bismol, Advil, Rolaids and Puffs, all charged back with Stetser’s signature to General Government Buildings Supplies & Expenses. How do buildings take antacids?
I haven’t tracked down all of the details on all the charges, but I’m curious about several weekend charges at Home Depot. Isn’t it time for the selectmen to step up to the plate and hold John Stetsor accountable for these charges? Is this not abuse of his powers? Also, why did Stetser accuse some selectmen of being dishonest when he observed Ken Berthiaume looking through the files in the accounting office “without permission from the board "? (April 2nd selectmen' s meeting minutes.) Every selectman should be digging through these files and finding out what’s been going on with the town’s money. It's their job to do so.
It is impossible for the budget committee to do it’s job if the financial reports can’t be trusted.
Will our selectmen ask the attorney general to investigate what went on with the John Stetser credit card abuse, or will they just ignore it, hope everyone forgets? He may be gone; but many questions remain.


Bob Davis
Budget Committee Member
893 Old Westport Road
Winchester

Do we need a time clock for town employees ?

This topic was submitted by Budget Committee member, Bob Davis

We all know that town employees have gone to a 4 day work week. But are we getting the most for our dollars when a town employee comes to work late every day, goes to lunch early and comes back to work late? Or when they leave early from a job and drive all the way back to the town garage just to have lunch? This has been brought to my attention time and time again by members of our community asking what is happening in our town. There have been reports that Highway Dept Superintendent Dale Gray goes to work late most of the time too. Four day work week was intended to save money not waste it. Is this the best we can expect for our tax dollars? Perhaps it's time we make these employees accountable by implementing a time clock/payroll procedure, it's evident that we need a system in place to ensure that these abuses stop immediately. The trust system is not working in Winchester.

Town firetruck used to fill pools?

It was reported that our new $250,000.00 town fire truck was driven to Vernon, Vt. to fill a swimming pool a few weeks ago. Who authorized this? What would have happened if we had had a serious fire here in town while this truck was elsewhere? Can we afford the risk of being without the services or the wear and tear to this vehicle to go around filling swimming pools? This matter was brought to the attention of the selectmen and new guide lines are being set up, but still this was foolishness at it's best and misconduct to say the least and something like this should have never happened. Common sense says you don't take a town emergency vehicle out of state, not for any reason, least of all to fill swimming pools.

Planning board has explaining to do

The following was submitted and printed in yesterday's Keene Sentinel in the Reader Opinion section...

To The Sentinel;
Winchester residents, it is your money! Is this a laughing matter? Some of the Planning Board members thought so.
Most people of Winchester know about the conditional approval given to Robert van Dyke by our town planning board for his 32-unit condo project on the hillside of Franklin Mountain on Route 10, behind Shamrock Realty.
What you don't know is that this planning board has been under the watchful eye of our town attorney, Barton Mayer; because of complaints of favoritism and pandering to the advantage of Mr. Van Dyke.
Most residents aren't aware that an appeal has been filed in Superior Court on behalf of the abutters, who are questioning the conduct of the planning board in reaching this decision, naming Chairperson Margaret Sharra and board member Dean Beamon personally.
In my previous letter to the editor of the Keene Sentinel, I raised several questions about the conduct of several members of this board and the possibility of a lawsuit being filed if they continued pandering to this applicant.
Just why wasn't the board afraid of being sued by the abutters, the very people they swore to protect, several of whom are disabled and on fixed incomes? For what reasons did they overturn their denial of this application?
No reasons were ever given, except to say they may have acted to hastily.
Were there suddenly new changes to the town's subdivision rules and regulations or was this simply Margaret Sharra using her influence as chairperson to once again help Mr. Van Dyke?
The granting of a waiver to allow Mr. Van Dyke relief from having to submit a completed application, as required by the town zoning laws on any building project, under the premise that this would cause him undue hardship of having to spend the money required to submit completed plan and design changes, was an outrageous motion from the board.
The issue of hardship is relative to the property and not the applicant. Having to spend the money to do things right is not a hardship. Every other developer who has submitted an application to the planning board has had to comply with the laws and submit a completed plan.
Either we elect people and become a town with laws that everyone must abide by equally, or have none at all.
We cannot allow elected officials to be influenced by special interest, they must all be of good conscience and capable of reaching a fair and lawful result on their own and shouldn't cast any doubt of implication of impropriety.

ROBERT DAVIS
893 Old Westport Road
Winchester

Is this really a laughing matter?

At a recent town Planning Board meeting, the subject of this lawsuit against the town was brought up. Several members of the board including Margaret Sharra and Dean Beamon can be heard laughing as they discuss, what they believe are the merits of the case and can be heard calling the abutters dumb and foolish. When one of the board members brings up the fact, that the so-called law, Margaret Sharra quoted from at their reconsideration meeting, was in fact, not a law and that the abutters could prevail, Margaret Sharra says .. " well you all know what I meant." Mr. Beamon comments "that no matter what, it is a no win situation for the abutters; because if they lose they have to pay their attorney and if they win, they still lose because we will raise their taxes to pay for the suit"
Lots of laughter can be heard coming from the members of the board after this statement, I guess they think it's a funny thing for the people of this town to have to pay for what they do. Are you laughing? Are these the kind of people you want representing you on the board?

( a copy of the tape of this meeting was obtained through the Selectman's office and the above comments were taken directly from the tape )

Proposed Trial date set

Barton Mayer has requested a proposed trial date of February 1, 2009 at Cheshire County Superior Court for the Planning Board Appeal hearing. Silas Little, on behalf of the plaintiffs has agreed as has John Ratigan, attorney for Mr. Van Dyke.

Town's attorney seeks to block discovery

Silas Little, the plaintiff's attorney received word from Barton Mayer, the Winchester Town Attorney, that he will seek to block and quash any efforts to obtain interrogatories and/or depositions from the Planning Board members.

Board members to be questioned

Silas Little, attorney for the plaintiffs intends to propound interrogatories from all the members of the Winchester Planning Board to discover all of the communications that occurred between
Board members on this application from August or so of 2007 until approval that occurred earlier this spring in 2008.

Mr Little had previously filed "A Right To Know" request to discover any and all communications between the board members that was not part of the Town's official records and was stonewalled by Margaret Sharra who did not completely honor his request under the law.

Summary Statement Of Petitioners

The following summary statement was filed in Superior Court on of the abutters by their attorney Silas Little ..

The Petitioners are abutters and aggrieved persons to land owned by Robert Van Dyke which received from the Winchester Planning Board site plan approval for a cluster development.

The Petitioners challenge the participation of Margaret Sharra and Dean Beamon in the deliberation of the Planning Board on the site plan. The Petitioners assert that these two(2) members of the Board were disqualified because of positions taken during the process which showed they were not neutral to the application.

The Petitioners also raise the issue of the interpretation of the cluster zoning ordinance and the permissible intrusions into the buffer zone for this cluster development as well as the granting of several waivers by the Planning Board without proper demonstration under the Planning Board regulation of the necessary facts in order to obtain the requested relief.

This Summary Statement is intended pursuant to notice of the Court and is not deemed an admission or to delimit the appeal to the court.

Board grants conditional okay ..

Despite Mr. Van Dyke not having all of his permits..
a required condition brought up at the last meeting.

Despite the town's attorney advising against it ..
" Do not give an approval without all permits in place".

Despite knowing the buffer zones aren't properly marked ..
Van Dyke's employees erroneously marked the zones.

Despite knowing someone ( employees? ) removed wetlands markers ..
Put in place by ACOE certified Soil Scientist working for PSNH who marked them for protection.

Despite several of the abutters having water rights issues with him ..
The Townes, Homans and Websters all hold deeded water rights to the property.

Despite his numerous violations of both state and town codes ..
Wetland violations, no erosion controls, excavated without permit, removed truckloads of soil from the site, intruded on buffer zones .. logged and clearcut without a permit.

The board voted to give him conditional approval to go ahead.

A formal complaint has been sent to the State Ethics Commission in regards to Margaret Sharra's conduct throughout the proceedings and a complaint will be filed with the town's selectman this week regarding her pandering and preferential treatment of this applicant.

The abutter's will be filing an appeal and suit against the town of Winchester over this decision.